Heating apparatus.



w Ah" N. B. WALES.

HEATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 17, 1906.

Patented Nov. 25, 1913.

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UNITED STATES PATENT ormon.

NATHANIEL B. WALES, OF BRAINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR '10 GUY B.COLLIER, OF KINDERHOOK, NEW YORK.

- HEATING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. .25, 1913.

Application filed December 1'7, 1906. Serial No. 343,335.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, NATHANIEL B. l/VALES, citizen of the United States,and residentof Braintree, county of Norfolk, Massachusetts, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Heating Apparatus, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The invention relatesto a heating appara-tus and its object is toprovide an improved system by which the heat required for heatingbuildings or for other heating purposes may be economically secured andutilized. The heat conveying medium utilized in this system forconveying the heat to the place or places where the heating is to bedone is preferably air although other elastic fluids might be used assuch medium.

In practising the invention the air or other heat carrying fluid istaken into the system fro-m the atmosphere or other source of fluidsupply until the system contains the requisite quantity or weight offluid and then communicationbetween the atmosphere or other source offluid supply is cut off and the fluid thus taken in is repeatedlycirculated through the system. In passing through that part of thesystemwhere the heat in the air is to be utilized for heating purposes andwhich for convenience I term the circulating conduit, some of the heatof the air within the system is given up. The cooler air coming from thecirculating conduit is again passed through that part of the systemwhere a fresh supply of heat is supplied thereto and is then againpassed through the circulating conduit. In a system of this sort Workingunder practical conditions there will be a gradual leakage or loss ofair from the system andone of the important features of my inventionconsists in providing means for automatically supplying or introducingfresh air to the system to compensate for such loss and mamtain -therequisite quantity or weight of air within the system.

A further feature of the invention consist-s in a closed system of thegeneral character above set forth in which the air after passing throughthe circulating conduit is expanded and then compressed and delivered tothe circulating conduit, heat being supplied to the air between itsadmission to the expanding mechanism and its admission to thecompressing mechanism.

In embodying these features in an efiicient form and arrangement ofapparatus I have utilized various other features of invention which willbe referred to. hereinafter and set forth in the claims.

For the purpose of illustrating the various features of my invention Ihave shown diagrammatically in the accompanying draw ings a heatingsystem embodying the various features of my invention.

In these drawings-I*igure l is :1 diagrammatic view of the system. Figs.2, 3 and i are details of parts of the devices for regulating andgoverning the amount of compression effected in the operation of theapparatus.

In the apparatus shown in. the drawings the air coming from thecirculating conduit is taken into an expanding mechanism where it isexpanded to a degree which-may be regulated according to the conditionsunder which the apparatus is to operate. In expanding the temperature ofthe air falls so that the air is in condition to absorb low temperatureheat or heat-at a lower temperature than it would absorb had it not beenexpanded. The air is also by its expansion not only rendered capable ofabsorbing lower temperature heat but is also rendered capable ofabsorbing a greater quantity of higher temperature heat than it couldabsorb had it not been expanded.

After having been expanded the air is delivered to a compressingmechanism by which it is compressed and delivered to the circulatingconduit. After the admission of the air to the expanding mechanism andbcfore it enters the compressing mechanism, heat is supplied to the air.This heat may be supplied to the air during the expansion or after theexpansion or both during and after the expansion and may be thussupplied in any manner which is the most economical .and advantageousaccording to the conditions under which the apparatus is being run. Bythe action of the compressing mechanism upon the air the temperature ofthe air is raised and a quantity of heat suitable for heating purposesis obtained which is materially grcatcrthan would have been obtained hadthe air not been expanded and heat supplied thereto.

vBy reason of the fact that the air after passing through thecirculating conduitis rcdelivered to the expanding mechanism thequantity of lltltwhich must be supplied to and'compressing mechanism andintermedi- --'power for operating purposes ate conduits is merely thatwhich has been given up by the air in passing through the circulatiiiconduit and consequently an officent an economical system is providedand one which. requires a small amount of As shown in thedrawings the-eanding mechanism is in the form of acy inder 2 Within whichvreciprocates a piston, 3; The piston is reciprocated by a crank tcarried by a shaft 5 and connected with the piston rod 6., The shaft 5is driven from a gas or hydrocarbon engine indicated at 7 throughabelt'8; a v I The intake pipe 81' ofthe expansion cyl indercommunicates through. a valve 82 and branch pipe'83 with the atmosphereand also communicates through the -valve 84 with the return pipe 33 fromthe circulating conduit. In'starting up the apparatus the valve 84 isclosed to shut off communication between the intake of the expansioncylinder and the circulating conduit. and the valve 82 is opened toestablish communication between the intake Iof the expansion cylinderand the atmosphere. After the apparatus has been operated until thedesired pressure within the circulating conduit is secured, the valve 82is closed to shut off communication between the'intake of thecompression cylinder andthe atmosphere and valve 84 is opened toestablish communication between the circulating conduit and the intakeof the expansion cylinder.

, The admission of the air to either side of the piston '3 of theexpansion cylinder is controlled byamain valve 9 and a cut-ofl" valve 10which control the communication between the intake pipe 81 and theintake ports .11. The expanded air is delivered from theexpandingcylinder 2 to a delivery i the intake pipe 8 and the ports 11 at'thepipe'12 through ports 13, the openin and closing of which is controlledby ade ivery valve 14. The main valve 9 and the delivery valve 14' areshifted at eachend of the stroke of the piston by means of arms 15projecting from the valve rod 6 and arrangedto operate upon tappets 16carried by the valve rods 17 and 18. The cut-off valve 10 is operated tocut on communication between 1 proper oint in the'stroke of the pistonin" either irection by means of an eccentric 19 carried by the shaft 5and connected with the valve by. an eccentric strap and rod 20.

During a portion of the stroke of the piston 3 in either direction, airis taken into the cylinder back of the-piston through the intake pipe'81, valves 9 and 10, and ort 11, and then the supply of air is out o bythe closing "of the valve 10. During the remainder of the stroke of thepiston, the air back of the piston expands, the amount of .which may beordinary puppet valves expansion depending upon the point at which thecut off valve is operated. Qn the return stroke of the iston thisexpanded air is delivered throug one of the ports 13 'to the deliverypipe 12. The incoming air as it passes through the intake pipe 81 issubjected to the action of a heating agent by means of a heating device54 through which the hot exhaust products from t e engine 7 arecirculating and absorbs heat from this heating agent. During theexpansion of the air it is also subjected to the action of a heatingagent circulated through a jacket formed around the expanding cylinderand absorbs heat from this heating agent so that the expansion of theair is approximately isothermal. The expanded air is conducted from theexpansion cylinder to the expanding mechanism through the pipe 12,receiver 22 and pipe 23, the air as it passes through this conduit beingsubjected to the action of a heating agent which is circulated through ajacket 24 surrounding the'receiver 22. Thus the air in its passage fromthe expanding mechanism to the compressing mechanism absorbs heat fromthe heating agent in the jacket 24 and will or may be delivered to the scompressing mechanism at a temperature higher than that at which itentered the expanding mechanism.

The compressing mechanism in the form shown consists of a cylinder 25within which reciprocates a piston 26. The cylinder 25 is arranged onthe opposite side of \the crank shaft 5 from the expansion cylinder 2and the piston 26 is connected with the crank pines by the piston rod 27which forms a to be furnished by the engine 7 in operating thecompressing mechanism.

Air is supplied to the compression cylinder from the pipe'23 throughintake valves, one of which opens to admlt a1r back of'the pistonimmediately the piston starts forward, remains open during the entirestroke of the iston in this direction, and immediately c oses as thepiston starts on its stroke in the opposite direction. The air isdelivered from the compression cylinder through valves 29 which controlthe communication between the ports 30 leading from opposite ends of thecylinder and the delivery pipe 31 which leads to or forms a part of theconduit through which the air is circulated. The valves 29 are valveswhich may be set to open when the pressure in front of the pistonreaches a predetermined point. As the piston advances therefore theexpanded air delivered to the cylinder through the pipe 230-11 itsstroke in the opposite direction, is compressed until its pressurereaches a predetermined point when the valve 29 opens and thiscompressed air is delivered into the pipe 31. In thus compressing theair a certain amount of heat is imparted to it by reason of the workdone upon it during the compression and the temperature of the air whichcontains the heat absorbed on its way to the compression mechanism israised to a temperature level suitable for use for heating purposes.Thus a large quantity of heat suitable for heating purposes is securedby doing a comparatively small amount of work upon the air. Thecompressed air with its large quantity of heat suitable for heatingpurposes is delivered through the pipe 31 and may be circulated throughradiators or heat-ing coils of a heating system or may be utilized totransfer its heat to the hot water of a hot water heating system or maybe otherwise used for heat-ing purposes. After having given up a certainamount of its heat the air is delivered from thecirculating conduitthrough the pipe 33 to the intake of the expanding mechanism to be againsupplied with .heat and passed through the circulating conduit.

In order that the quantity of air within the system may be automaticallymaintained to compensate for any leakage and thus maintain asubstantially uniform operation, means are provided for automaticallysupplying air to the system to compensate for such loss. Any suitablemeans may be em ployed for this purpose and the means employed may beregulated and controlled in any suitable manner and may be arranged tointroduce the air into any part of the system. I prefer however toemploy for this purpose a compressing mechanism which forces air intothe system and I also prefer to control the operation of thiscompressing mechanism by the pressure in the system so that when thepressure within that part of the system to which the controlling devicesare connected falls below a imcdeterrnined point,

the compressing mechanism is thrown into operation and operates tosupply air to the system until the pressure is restored.

One form of air compressing device suit able for the above purpose isshown in the drawings. As shown this device comprises a cylinder 34within which reciprocates a piston The lower end of the cylinder isconnected by means of a pipe 36 with the pipe which leads from thecirculating conduit to the expanding mechanism. The upper end of thecylinder 34 communicates through an intake valve 37 with the atmosphereand communicates through a delivery valve 38 with a pipe 39 which leadsfrom the pipe 33. The pipe 39 is provided with a valve 40 which servesto open and close communication between the upper end of the cylinder 34and the delivery pipe 33 of the circulating conduit. nected with apiston rod 41 the upper end of which is arranged to be acted upon by acam 42 secured to cam shaft 5.

By reason of the fact that the piston rod 41 is connected to the upperside of the piston 35 the efl?ective area of the lower side of thepiston is greater than the effective area of the upper side of thepiston and a given pressure below the piston will therefore cause theair above the piston to be compressed to a higher pressure.

Assuming that the valve 40 is open the operation of the device will beas follows: On the down stroke of the piston air will be drawn inthrough the valve 37 the valve 38 The piston 35 is con- I being heldclosed by the pressure within the 1 system. As the cam 42 releases thepiston the pressure on the under side of the piston will force itupward, the valve 37 closing to prevent the escape of air from above-thepiston. The air above the piston will therefore be compressed until thepressure is greater than the pressure within the system when the valve38 will open and the air above the piston be forced into the systemthrough the pipe 39. On the next down stroke of the piston the valve 38will close and the valve 37 open to allow a fresh sup ply of air toenter the upper end of the cylinder above the piston when the operationwill be repeated. Thus so long as the valve 40 remains open the pumpwill operate to supply air to the system and to build up the pressuretherein. When the valve is closed the piston 35 will be forced downwardto the lower end of its stroke each time the cam 42 revolves and whenreleased by the cam will return until the pressure within the upper endof the cylinder and pipe 39 balances the pressure below the piston whenthe piston will remain at rest until again depressed by the cam.

In order to secure a substantially constant supply of air to the systemduring the time that the air supplying device is in operation a secondcylinder and piston 34 and 35 may be provided and the piston may be o'ierated by a cam 42 arranged upon the shaft 5 at an angle of 180degrees to the cam 42. I

The device for opening the valve 40 and (1111s throwing the compressingdevice into operation when the pressure within the system falls below acertain amount, comprises a casing 45 which is connected by means of apipe 46 with the pipe 33 leading from the circulating conduit. Withinthe casing 45 is a diaphragm (not shown) which is connected by means ofa link or pin 47 with a lever 48. The lever is connected by means of alink 49 with an operating arm 50 which is connected with the valve 40.An adjust- &

48 and this weight may be adjusted to regulate the pressure required tooperate the diaphragm and through it to operate the lever 48.

In adjusting the apparatus for any given conditions the weight51 is soadjusted that the lever 48 will be supported in raised position' by thepressure on the under side of the diaphragm in the casing 45 so long asthe desired pressure is maintained in the circulating conduit and pipe33. So long as this pressure is maintained the valve'4O remains closed.Should the pressure in the pipe 33 fall below thepredetermined pressurethe lever 48 will be moved downward by the weight 51 thus operating thevalve 40 and opening communication between the upper ends of thecylinders 34, 34 and the pipe 33. Air will now be 'forced into thesystem until the pressure in the pipe 33 is restored when the lever 48will be raised to close the valve 40. Thus the requisite quantity of airwill be automatically maintained in the system and fresh air supplied'tocompensate for any leakage.

The heating of the air after expansion may be efieeted in any suitablemanner and in some cases it may be found most desirable to'expand theair so that its temperature is below the temperature of the outsideatmosphere so that'heat may be supplied to the expanded air from theatmosphere. The heating at this stage and at other stages during thepassage of the air through the apparatus may be economically done incases where gas or hydrocarbon engines are used for operating purposesby utilizing the waste heat from the motor as the heating agent and inthe drawings an arrangement for thus utilizing the waste heat from themotor is illustrated. As shown the exhaust products from the engine 7are led through pipe 51 to the jacket of the compression cylinder 25,-thence through a pipe 52 to the jacket 24 of the receiver 22, thencethrough a pipe 53 to the heating device 54 and exhausted through pipe54'. The heating agent-for acting upon the air during its expansion inthe expanding cylinder is the water circulated through the jacket or thecombustion cylinder of the engine 7. This water is led from the waterjacket'of'the engine through a pipe 55 to the jacket of the cylinder 2andis returned to the water jacket through a pipe 56.

In an apparatus of the character described the range of temperaturethrough which the air should be raised by the compression mechanism inorder to secure a given temperature in the air delivered, will vary withthe-conditions under which the apparatus is being used. In the form ofapparatus shown, it is intended that the compressing stantially constantpressure after the apparatus has been once adjusted and'the adjustmentfor varying conditions is effected by varying or regulating the amountof expansion effected in the expanding mechanism and consequently theamount of compression required to com ress the expanded air to anypredetermine pressure. When the apparatus has been adjusted or regulatedso as to operate properly under the conditions existing at the time ofits use, it is desirable that its operation should be automaticallygoverned in conformity with the use to which it is put. For instance, itmay be desirable to govern the operation of the apparatus so that asubstantially constant temperature will be maintained in the apartmentsbeing heated and for the purpose of illustration a governing mechanismis shown adapted to govern the apparatus to maintain a substantiallyconstant temperature at the place of use.

The amount of expansion effected in the expansion cylinder depends uponthe point in the stroke of the piston 3 at which the cut-off valve 10acts to cut off the supply of air through the intake pipe 81 and thepoint at which the valve thus acts depends upon the position of theeccentric 19 upon the shaft 5. -The expansion effected in the expandingcylinder may therefore be regulated and governed by regulating andgoverning the position of the eccentric 19 upon the shaft 5. For thispurpose the eccentric is loosely mounted upon theshaft between thecollars 54" and is held in position upon the shaft bymeans of a pin 55which engages a spiral groove 56 formed in the bore of the eccentric.The pin 55 is secured upon the end of a rod 57 which is mounted withinthe shaft 5, the pin projecting through a longitudinal slot 58 formed inthe shaft. The rod projects beyond the end of the shaft and is providedwith two collars 59 which engage opposite sides of a pin projecting fromone arm of a bellcrank lever 60. 'The other end of the bellcranklever'is connected by means of an adjustable link 61 with a lever 62.The lever 62 is connected by a link or pin 63 with a flexible diaphragmwithin a casing 64and is rovided with an adjustable weight 65 by w ichthe pressure transmitted from the lever to the diaphragm may beregulated. The chamber within the casing below the diaphragm isconnected by a pi e 66 with a thermostat 67 arranged within the buildingwhich is to be heated, and constructed in any usual or well known mannerto vary the pressure within the pipe 66 according to the temperature ofthe thermostat.

By adjusting the weight 65 upon the arm 62 the pressure on the diaphragmin the casing 64 may be adjusted to counterbalance mechanism shoulddeliver the air at a subthe pressure on the underside of the diaphragm'corresponding tothe desired temperatu're at the thermostat. By adjustingthe link 61 the cutoff valve may be set to regulate the expansion tosuit the conditions under which the apparatus is to operate at anyparticular time. After the eccentric. has been thus set, the thermostatwill operate to control the governing mechanism to maintain asubstantially constant temperature at the thermostat. If the temperatureat the thermostat falls, the eccentric will be shifted to cause thecut-off valve to operate at an earlier point in the stroke of theexpansion piston. This will result in a greater expansion of the air andtherefore a greater compression with the corresponding rise in thetemperature of the air passing through the circulating conduit. If thetemperature at the thermostat rises, the eccentric will be operated tocause the cut-off valve to operate later in the stroke of the piston.This will result in less expansion of the air in' the expanding cylinderand consequently less compression in the compression cylinder with acorresponding fall in the temperature of the air in the circulatingconduit.

It will be understood that the specific construction of the expandingmechanism, compressing mechanism and of the various devices andmechanisms forming parts of the apparatus, are not material and that themechanisms and devices shown in the drawings are shown merely for thepurpose of illustrating diagrammatically the general construction andmode of operation of an apparatus embodying the features of theinvention.

lVithout attempting to point out in detail the various forms ofapparatus in which my invention may be embodied, what I claim" anddesire to secure by Letters Patent -is:' 1. A heating apparatuscomprising fluid expanding mechanism, fluid compressing pandingmechanism and for opening and closing communication between said intakeand a source of fluid supply.

2. A heating apparatus comprising fluid expanding mechanism, fluidcompressing mechanism to which the expanded fluid is delivered, a primemotor for driving said mechanisms, means for supplying heat to the fluidbetween its admission to the expanding mechanism and its admission tothe compressing mechanism, heat utilizing devices to which the fluidfrom the compressing mechanism is delivered and from which the fluid isdelivered to the expanding mechanism, and means for supplying fluid tothe system whenever the pressure in the system falls below apredetermined point.

3. A heating apparatus comprising fluid expanding mechanism, fluidcompressing mechanism to which the expanded fluid is delivered, a primemotor for driving said mechanisms, means for supplying heat to the fluidbetween its admission to the expanding mechanism and its admission tothe compressing mechanism, heat utilizing devices to which the fluidfrom the compressing mechanism is delivered and from which the fluid isdelivered to the expanding mechanism, and-means for maintaining asubstantially uniform quantity offluid in the system.

4. A heating apparatus comprising fluid expanding mechanism, fluidcompressing mechanism to which the expanded fluid is delivered, a primemotor for driving said mechanisms, means for supplying heat to the fluidbetween its admission to the expanding mechanism and its admission tothe compressing mechanism, a circulating conduit to which the fluid fromthe compressing mechanism is delivered and from which the fluid isdelivered to the expanding mechanism, and means controlled by thepressure in the system for supplying fluid thereto.

5. A heating apparatus comprising fluid expanding mechanism, fluidcompressing mechanism to which the expanded fluid is delivered, a primemotor for driving said mechanisms, means for supplying heat to the fluidbetween its admission to the expanding mechanism and its admission tothe compressing mechanism, heat utilizing devices to which the fluidfrom the compressing mechanism is delivered and from which the fluid isdelivered to the expanding mechanism, and fluid compressing mechanismfor forcing fresh fluid into the system to maintain a quantity of fluidtherein.

6. A heating apparatus comprising fluid expanding -mechanism, fluidcompressing mechanism to which the expanded fluid is delivered, a primemotor for driving said mechanisms, means for supplying heat to the fluidbetween its admission tothe expanding mechanism and its admission to thecompressing mechanism, a circulating conduit to which the fluid from thecompressing mechanism is delivered and from which the fluid is deliveredto the expanding mechacompressing mechanism, and mechanism for supplyingfluid to the system whenever the pressure therein falls below apredetermined amount.

v8. A' heating apparatus comprising fluid compressing mechanism, acirculating con.-

duit to which the compressed fluid is .de-

livered and from which itis returned to the compressing mechanism, andmeans controlled by the pressure in the system forsupplying fluidthereto.

9. A heating'apparatus comprising fluid compressing mechanism, acirculating conexpanding mechanism,

duit to which the compressed fluid is deli-vered and from which it isreturned to the compressingv mechanism, and fluid com-- fluid betweenits admissionto the expanding mechanism and its admission .to thecompressing mechanism, a circulating conduit leadmg from the compresslngmechanism and delivering to the expanding mechanism,

means for regulating the expanding mechanism, .means for automaticallygoverning the apparatus, and means for supplying fluid to the systemwhenever the pressure therein --falls below a predetermined point.

11. A heating apparatus comprising fluid expanding -mechanism, fluidcompressing mechanism, a conduit for conducting the fluid from theexpanding to the compressing mechanism, a circulating conduit'leadinfrom the compressing mechanism and de iveringto the expanding mechanism,means for adjusting the apparatus to vary the amount of compression,governing mechanism for governing the apparatus to maintain asubstantially constant temperature at the place of use of the heatcarrying fluid,

and means for supplying fluid to the stem whenever the pressure thereinfalls be ow a predetermined point.

12. A heating apparatus comprising fluid expanding mechanism, fluidcompressing mechanism to which the expanded fluid is delivered, meanswhereby the fluid is heated between expansion and compression, acirculating conduit leading from the compressing mechanism anddelivering to the expanding mechanism, a governor forautomaticallycontrolling the amount of compression, and means for supplying fluid tothe system whenever the pressure therein falls below a predeterminedpoint,

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 10th day ofDecember 1906.

NATHANIEL B. WALES.

In the presence of IRA L. FISH, KATHARINE'A. DUGAN.

